Canada Housing Starts

Last Release

Aug 31, 2025

Actual

245.79

Units In

Thousand units

293.54

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Oct 16, 2025

Time to Release

29 Days 8 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
333.28 Mar 2021	90.7 Aug 1982	193.67 Thousand units	1977-2025	Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation

In Canada, a housing start is defined as the beginning of construction work on the building where the dwelling unit will be located. This can be described in 2 ways: usually, the stage when the concrete has been poured for the whole of the footing around the structure; or an equivalent stage where a basement will not be part of the structure.

Latest Updates

Housing starts in Canada declined 16% in August 2025 to 245,791 units from a revised 293,537 in July and well below market expectations of 277,500. The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total urban housing starts in centers with populations of 10,000 or more declined by 18% to 223,728 units from 272,330 units in July. Rural starts were estimated at 22,063 units. Actual housing starts in urban centers rose 10% year-over-year, with Montréal posting a 32% year-on-year increase driven by stronger multi-unit activity, Vancouver posting a 46% gain on higher multi-unit and single-detached starts, and Toronto posting roughly the same level as in August 2024.